Ants' Global Domination: A Co-Evolutionary Journey with Plants.

A new study in the journal Evolution Letters suggests that when flowering plants spread out from forests, ants followed, kicking off the evolution of the thousands of ant species alive today. The researchers used a combination of fossils, DNA, and data on the habitat preferences of modern species to piece together how ants and plants have been evolving together over the past 60 million years. The study shows the important role that plants play in shaping ecosystems and how shifts in plant communities can impact the animals and other organisms relying on these plants, especially in light of the climate and biodiversity crises we're facing.